A/N: Can't remember if they ever said how old he was but we're gonna go with 9. A little blast from the past.

He feels the panic rise with each passing second. Pacing back and forth across the living room, nervously running his fingers through his hair as he tries to come up with a plan to stop the inevitable from happening.

"Babe, relax."

He stops in his tracks, turning to his wife wide-eyed, flabbergasted at the words that just came off her lips. "Relax? You want me to relax?"

"It's just a date."

"Oh, no, it's not just a date. It's our daughter's first date."

"Yeah, and it's not gonna be her last."

"Are you trying to make me have a stroke?"

The brunette huffs a laugh, shaking her head. They've known about this date for a week now and somehow her partner's gone into overprotective dad mode more and more each day. All she can do now is what she does best…calm him down. "Babe, she's gonna be fine."

"It's not her I'm worried about. I know how teenage boys think. I was one of them."

"Was?"

"Very funny. Why are you not freaked out by this, I mean for all we know the kid is a super douche."

A small smile curls at her lips as she steps up to her husband, rubbing her hands across his shoulders and down his arms before taking hold of his hands. "And that'll be for her to figure out but we can't stop her from going out with him. You know the more we try to dictate what she does the more she'll pull away."

He feels the tension somewhat release from his body at her touch and then completely when his eyes meet hers. His solstice. "I know. You're right."

Before anything else can be said, there's a knock at the door and his head immediately falls to her shoulder. "Do you want me to get it?"

Still resting on her shoulder, he shakes his head. "No, I got this."

Lifting his head, he takes a calming breath before receiving a quick kiss from his girl and taking a few steps to the door. There's a knock once more making him turn back to his wife. "He has no patience, I don't like him even more now." She takes a deep, calming breath, signaling him to do the same. He does as told before turning back to the door and pulling it open. His eyes go wide in shock once he sees the person on the other side. "Byron?"

"Marty? You live here?"

This is not the 9-year-old he was a big brother to 8 years ago. The kid standing in front of him is his height, chiseled jawline…that frat daddy look. "Yeah, what are you doing here?"

"I'm here to pick up Rosa or at least I thought I was." His brow furrows in confusion, taking a quick look at the number on the house to make sure he had the right house.

Seeing her husband staring blankly at the person on the other side of the door, Kensi comes up behind him and suddenly realizes why he's frozen in place. "Byron, how are you?"

"Kensi, hey, I'm doing good. How are you?"

"Other than trying to calm down my husband, pretty good. What are you doing here?"

"I came to pick up-" The teen stops mid-sentence when Rosa walks into view. "Hi."

Kensi notices the boy's eyes light up and that's when the pieces finally come together. "Come in."

"Oh, actually, we need to get going. I saw that there's a large pile-up on the highway and we're gonna take the longer route to the Observatory so we can avoid any possible accidents."

A smile spreads to the special agent turned mom's face. Their girl's in good hands. "Hear that babe, he's taking extra precautions."

"Yeah, he better be." The shaggy blonde sends the teen boy a fake smile, but it goes unnoticed as his attention is still on their oldest.

Shaking her head, Kensi wraps her arm around Rosa's shoulders, giving her a quick squeeze. "You better go before he has a stroke."

The teen meets her adoptive mother's eyes and smiles. "Thank you."

Stepping out the door Rosa and Byron share another smile before turning towards the car.

"Bye. Have a good time." Kensi calls out, curling her arms around her husband's, taking in this big moment of parenthood but also stopping him from chasing after the kids.

The pair take a few steps before Byron turns around, sporting a charming smile. "We will. I promise to have her home by 10:30 at the latest."

"Better make it 7:30." Deeks smiles, nodding his head in all seriousness.

"He's kidding. Ten thirty's fine. Be careful."

Before her partner can embarrass their daughter anymore, Kensi shuts the front door before stepping over to the window, watching as Rosa and Byron reach the car and him opening the door for her. 'Babe, you need to chill."

As Kensi watches the pair pull off and Deeks stays near the door, brooding, Pilar steps out of the hallway to join her parents with a grin on her face. "Are you still freaking out?"

"I'm not freaking out." He meets the young girl's eyes, pouting.

"He's totally freaking out."

"Well, then I guess this is a bad time to tell you that I have a date tomorrow with the high school basketball star."

The blonde's eyes go wide, feeling his throat dry up at their baby girl's words. This is how he dies. "What?"

The high-pitched yelp that leaves Deek's throat and terror in his eyes forces Pilar to turn to Kensi, both unable to hold back their laughter. "You were right…that was fun."

Shaking his head, he lets out a sigh of relief as he watches his wife and daughter retreat to the kitchen, laughing at his misery. Honestly, he doesn't care as long as their little girl stays little for just a while longer.

"Come on, dad. Let's nurse your wounds with some ice cream."

And just like that, everything becomes even more real. Dad.